HALLOWEEN PARTY

What a fun night to join the crazy Halloween Party organized by WSRZ in Venice Community Hall for the first time !!

It was an unplanned event . We bought the tickets just a day ahead of the party. So, we did not have time to shop for the costumes. Hence, I just have to grab whatever was available from home to dress for the party.

We have 2 funky orange hats which were given to us as VIP guests to Ringling Circus in year 2006. It was an exciting Birthday Entertainment gift for me from Ah Don in 2006 and some red materials bought from the garage sale; then plus some horrible make-up..... we went for the party.

When we arrived at the venue, the hall was almost full of participants. Everyone was wearing all kind of funny costumes. Everyone was so excite to cramp either on the dining tables or on the dance floor. We went straight to the dance floor to have fun with others.

The hall was full of creative people who came up with all kind of costume ! It was full of color! Most of the costumes reflected the night of Halloween with all horrified creatures; there were characters from movies, daily life and imaginative features. There were sexy guys disguise in lady etc..... There was a $1000 Cash to be won for first 3 best/ creative costume of the night.

Am I a witch or what!!!

What happened to my hair?

What about this ?
( No! I might not able to see in the dark ! )


I am Ready for the Halloween Party

Are we Funny ???

Ah Don said," I am the Chinese Mafia.... TaiKo !"

Some interesting features !!!

Tai Ko in negotiation !

The tall Robot could hardly walk with all his Alumium gears on!!

It was a real fun and entertaining night.... We will like to join the party again next Halloween !!

We bought a big package of candy for the Halloween kids to come by ...... unfortunately, we missed them since we were at the party.....But the Big Boy Ah Don will finsih these candies very soon !!!!

BOO!!!! BOO !!!!!

OUR GARAGE SALE

This is interesting.......We have shopped over hundreds of Garage Sale in the past and had never organised one ourselves. Since we have tons of extra items ( as quoted by Ah Don) , we made one happened on October 26th 2009!!

Before the move to our new home, I went through boxes in our garage to pull out things that are no longer needed or will not be used in a while. They are repacked and cleaned to go for our Garage Sale.

On that day, the weather was fine in the morning; when it came to the noon time the weather was getting too warm t o reamin outdoors. So, we ended our business at 1pm with a bit extra money in my purse for my future shopping in other Garage Sale.... hehehehehehehehe!

Things we sold were inexpensive .... some people are just like me like to pick up things of good bargain. I received a few good comments from shoppers like...... "very reasonable price, very good arrangement, neat and clean., vey organized!"

I grouped items of similar price together with a Big Price Tag. Customers could pick up things they liked and paid without easily.

Here are some pic of items for sale at our Garage Sale....

Have lot of books in boxes ; they are not popular for sale at half.com

Some left over Toys that were not sold at Flea Market in Ewing , NJ

Some crazy stuff bought or given free over time at Garage Sale

Some Knick Knack that were interesting to me at one point of time !!!

Some of my own floral arangement for sale too

Some of the clothings that we don't wear any more!

It was a good experience ....... at least some of the boxes have been eliminated before the move !!

OUR NEW HOME AT HAMPTON, PALMER RANCH

Finally, we have a place to call our Home at Hampton, Palmer Ranch which is less than 2 minutes away from where we live - Village Walk.

After months of house hunting, this is just the right house that we are looking for. This house got my immediate "affection" when we dropped by at its open house. It has 2 car garage, 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths, a formal living and dinning room, a large kitchen, with all new stainless steel appliances, opens to family room. The most attractive part of this house is its unique interior design. The lovely golden orange floor tiles that are so warm and inviting. The ceiling at the dinning room and family room are very beautiful. All fans are fanciful to match the color scheme of the wall and the flooring. According to the broker, this house was bought by one rich man who remodeled the whole house as gift to his daughter, but she did not like it. ( Hmmm.. some people could be so lucky !)

The whole idea of getting a house aroused after we are sure that we like Sarasota and believe that we will be here till we retired from work ! In the meantime, this is the right time to take the advantage of declining housing market. Florida is among one of the states with high ranking in unemployment and foreclosure.

Since we have the desire to buy a house, we started to drive around housing community during weekends. While I was shipping at garage sale from one place to another, Ah Don would hang around the nearby area , looked for "House For Sale" sign; In the evening, after dinner, we would browse through most of the MSL & house sale listing online. We marked those units that we were interested for our Agent- Laura to arrange for the viewing after office hours.So, for over 3 months we were busy visiting one house to another. After the visit, two of us would sit down to discuss and analyse the "Plus" and "minor" factors to narrow down the list of houses that we would like to have a second visit. I think we could have visited more than 59 houses !!!!

Altogether, there were 3 houses that we really liked before encountering this house. The deal did not go through, They were all wonderful & nice. The house No 1 is till my favour house. Unfortunately, the owner misquoted his asking price. He was not aware that the listed price was not adequate to settle his mortgage. The House No 2 is just 2 blocks away from our present house, regrettably, we were late to make the offer, so the house went to other buyer. It is a corner unit, with bigger yard..... Now, whenever we drove pass the house I wanted to see who is the smart buyer ????? The house is almost $35,000 less than what we paid for this house !!!!! The house No 3... Oh! ! this is another house that perfectly match with our "dream". The house is so nice and beautiful in its design and layout. There is a cosy swimming pool as bonus to the listing price.!!! Now! you may ask why didn't we go for it ????? Well, we viewed the house on Saturday afternoon, thinking that we could contact the agent to submit our offer On morning. Before Ah Don could related to her of our keen interest, she told us that the house has been sold and there were 5 other buyers lining to offer should the 1st buyer did not get through the deal !!

Anyway...... we are happy with this house. We completed the whole transaction in less than 3 weeks and moved in on 9th October 2009.

As soon as the deal was in process, we started to pack all our stuff........ OMG.... there were so many things to pack!! Luckily we have the moving boxes and packing paper that were used and kept when we moved here from New Jersey in November 2007. We saved some money from recycling !

One week before moving, we had our garage sale at our office's car park to sell those extra stuff we don't need and not easy to sell at eBay. On that Saturday, the weather was fine in the morning; we had fair amount of people came to our garage sale. When the sun was getting too warm toward noon,we closed the sale by 1pm. .. Ha ha ha.... I manged to make a little money but Ah Don wanted to claim for his time and the gas for his transportation! I bet he forgot that I am his wife and what is his is mine !!!

So here are some pictures of our new place

The Exterior look of the house

The Timber panel at Ceiling

Part of the view of Family Room where our big TV will be here

The Lanai looking into the matured trees and plants

The view From Family Room

The Cloud in the master bedroom

Kitchen with Cherry Wood Cabinets ,GE Profile appliances, Granite counte-tops

The Slates to the bathroom at Master Bedroom

The Golden Orange Floor Tiles which we are not sure of its name!

We are still in the process of opening boxes. Most of the things have got the places to go..... but there are still plenty of boxes left in the garage ..........

Normal Night

Tonight was another normal summer night here is Florida. The video below is of a thunder storm that was raging behind our house. In front of the house the sky was clear and the moon was bright. We never did get any rain from the storm. It stayed to the south of us.

FOREVER PICTURE

This is the group photo of me with my 2 sisters and 4 younger brothers

( My 2nd elder Brothers was not around while this Pic was taken)

This photo is now even more valuable than before since my eldest sister

has gone to join my father, mother and eldest brother

This photo was taken at Eng Kui's house in Johor Bahru , Malaysia in 1997

Once, I asked my mother, " What is the thing that you are most proud of ?" She was then around her 60 something; she passed away at 83.

Her answer: " The only thing that make me happy and satisfied in nonetheless for having 9 children who are normal kids!"

How humble and true is her answer. This is why I respect my mother more than anybody in this world. She has so many good things for me to learn from.

I used be No 5 in between 2 elder brothers & sisters and 4 younger brothers. Now..... I am not !!

FRUIT OF TENDER CARE

I love looking at this plant every morning before going to work and in the evening after work.

I bought this plant with the rusty stand from a Garage Sale about 3 months ago. It was from an estate sale. It was placed by the side of the entrance to the house and no one bothered to look at it. ... I believe the plant could have been special to the owner who passed away and left unattended for a long period without watering . It was a pot of dying plant. I bought it because it looked funny but special to me.

When I took it home, I told myself, " Well, I'm going to try to save this plant; even if I fail, I would have the pot stand that could be used for other plant".

In life, we do like to take chances in this manner. We like to bet! After all ,our lives are full of risk taking.

Same principle also applied in situation in handling negotiation. I always believe there is nothing wrong to bargain. there is nothing to lose. Says, if I offered a price that I am willing to pay and that the seller is comfortable to sell. We are both happy, If the seller is unwilling to accept my price, I walk away.

I watered the plant every morning. I looked & touched it every morning....... Slowly and gradually, the leaves were turning from white to purple then to green........ Then one day, a small bub appeared. In next few days........ it bloomed into a lovely flower!!!

In this case, I am not talking about bargaining with price I paid for the plant,.... I am paying the price to take the challenge to save the plant........ and I made it happens ..my effort is rewarding.

When I look at the plant these days, I am very satisfied. I can sense that the plant is sending me this warm message " You can turn a deadly plant to green with tender care and patience"

See! these lovely flowers .......... She bears flowers every 2 weeks.

The leaves were dry and white in color once...... very unhealthy and unsightly!!!!

NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.......

When we broke or damaged something that is valuable to us, we would try our best to get a replacement. If this happen it's easy to deal with the temporary loss. If the item has its sentimental value and that there is no way that we will not blame ourselves for being careless.

I have this mixed feeling over the loss lately..........

Case 1 : I broke one of the Avon Canny Bowls which we bought from a garage sale. This is a collectible item that is no longer in production. The seller was a young lady who was lucky to inherit the house with contents from her uncle who passed away without decedent. We bought these 2 Candy bowls with other items that come in set. We used these 2 bowls for ice cream after dinner. Now, I am using a different bowl and hope that I will be find one from garage sale; or else, I have to buy from ebay !

This is the only one now left for use by Don

These are shattered pieces after I hit the edge of the sink accidentally. It went to trash!!! I am yet to find one from the garage sale...... I may have to bid from ebay

For this Case 1, I am sure to find a replacement i a matter of time. But not for the following case..... I will never get one ; it will NEVER BE THE SAME .......

Case 2 : The following are 3 knitted sweaters as gifts from my eldest sister. She spent her leisure hours to knit these sweaters for me; they are great gift that are full of love from her. It shows how much she loved me and cared for me despite her poor health. She wanted me to keep warm with these sweater in USA . She knitted these sweaters piece by piece while she was watching Cantonese drama or while she was in the car or waiting at the clinic or hospital for consultation.

This was the 1st Sweater she gave me the day before I left for USA in May 2005. She said, " It's cold in American , you must keep yourself warm!" This is a sweet sweater and I used to put it on at work

This is the 2nd sweater she knitted for me when I came home for Chinese New Year in Feb 2006. During that time she was still in good health except having some aging problem. She told me since I was not available for measurement hence the sleeves are a bit longer...........It's fine with me !

The is the 3rd I received from her this past Chinese New Year. She rushed to complete this sweater for me even she was not fully recovered from her operation. She even felt sorry for not fitting the white buttons ; She told me she could not walk for long and did not go shopping for the buttons!! She still care for me like her little sister; she forgot that I am a senior citizen !

This white sweater is the last sweater I received from my Tai Ka Che. I would not receive another sweater from her . She is no longer there to knit for me when I return home again. I won't see her face in person, I can't chat and joke with her ; There is no way that I can taste her good cooking again....... She is gone to her Lord.... What she left with me is the memories......

These are sweaters that are real treasures that can be bought by money. They meant so much to me...... Each of them keeps me warm from her heart.

These gifts are non-replaceable . They are full of sentimental value ........... Unlike the Avon Candy Bowls....... I will find one again.............

These sweaters were knitted with warm love from my Ta Ka che.......No one else does the same!!

I love you and miss you so much Tai Ka Che!!!

CONDOLENCE MESSAGE TO MY ELDEST SISTER

~~~~~~~~This is the only wayto express my feeling in writing to Tai Ka che
and that someone from home will read to her at funeral service ~~~~~~~~~

Dearest Tai Ka Che,

First of all, I would like to apologize and beg for forgiveness for being unable to share the last moment of your life as well as to pay my last respect at this service.

Next, I would like to express my deepest sympathy and condolence to Fong family for the loss of a good loving wife, mother, mother-in-law and grandma.

This is a very difficult time for all of us. Please look beyond the sorrow and think about all the sweet memories that she has given and left with us.

My Tai Ka Che, Ai Chin or “Tin Na”, which we used to call her while we were young at home, made history in our small kampong in those olden days. As far as I can remember, she was the first girl being sent to Singapore to study. She was the first girl who managed to overcome all hardship and difficulties to marry with Mr Fong. We lived in a small “kampong” where there were many traditional ladies who were strongly against daughters marrying men of any dialect other than HOKKIAN Lang! It was through the affectionate and truthful love that Mr. Fong obtained my parents’ approval despite the objections of the kampong folks.

After her marriage and despite her tight schedule, being a teacher and mother to four kids, she was like a Santa to us. She would sew beautiful clothes and dresses for all of us. She sent them by post from her home in Kuala Pilah. Tai Ka Che ensured that we had new dresses to put on for each day that we were off from school for the festival day. It was beyond words to describe how kind and how much she loved us as her siblings.

Tai Ka Che’s kindness was unbounded and was rewarded and blessed with a good husband who loved her dearly, shared all ups and downs with her. They have 4 great and successful children of whom they are very proud. Tai Ka Che was very humble about this, but I took every opportunity to remind her of this great success that she achieved in life in addition to being a great sister.

Now that she is gone, but never forgotten, I will always remember her beautiful smile, the good dishes she cooked and the open invitation she extended to me and my daughter to share with her family for all festivals. I am so grateful to be able to share the joy of being in a big family

Tai Ka Che, once again, though you are gone….. We will miss you forever. Please let your magic charm and sweet memories stay with Mr. Fong to strengthen him and allow him to have a healthy life for many more years…..

From: San Chio Che – Ah Ngo Yee or Louyee

Florida, August 31, 2009

OBITUARY- FAREWELL TO MY BELOVED TAI KA CHE

~~~~~~~~OBITUARY~~~~~~~~

GAN AI CHIN

AT AGE 73 YEARS

WENT HOME TO BE WITH THE LORD

ON 30th AUGUST 2009

Half page in Sin Chew Jit Poh inserted by Gan Family

Wake Service on Monday 31st August 2009 at 8:00 pm at Nirvara memorial Center, KL

Funeral Service on Tuesday 1st September 2009 at 10:30 am at First Baptish Church, PJ
FBC web site : http://www.fbc.com.my/

Thereafter cortege leaves for burial in Christian memorial Garden, Semenyih, Malaysia

In Star paper inserted by Fong family.

THERE GONE MY BELOVED ELDEST SISTER AI CHIN - TAI KA CHE

This is definitely not a good Sunday....

Su Yee brought me the bad news in the morning that my beloved eldest sister has passed away peacefully in the afternoon in one of the private hospitals in Malaysia. ( our time is 08/30/2009 2:00 AM).....

My Eldest sister is Ai Chin, I like to call her as "Tai Ka Che". she has been suffering from terminal illness and has her pancreas removed last September. Since then, she had been fighting strongly with this "devilish illness" until this July where her body was getting too weak to continue the fight! This could be the time she felt she has completed her missions for the family and in this world that she marched gradually towards the end of her journey

This news came at time while I was chatting and sending prayer to her ....... not what I anticipated to receive but it came TOO SOON.....

This is a hardest thing and most emotional experience to accept. I was very upset and sad for being unable to join the rest of my family to mourn for the loss of our beloved sister ; Also, I felt so bad that I was unable to offer my condolence and comfort to Fong family for the loss , the grief and the bereavement. I beg for the forgiveness!!!

From here, I could only hope and continue to pray that everyone is able to see beyond the sorrow and may the love and care given to my sister be shared and helped through the days ahead.

To my brother -in -law, Mr Fong, I thank you for all the care and love that you have shared and given to my beloved sister for over 50 years. You are a wonderful husband to my Tai Ka che. May all the past sweet memories you had with her remain to give you the strength to get over the loss soon. Remember, you have your lovely children and grand kids who love and care for you just as much as they loved my Tai Ka Che. I sincerely hope that you will adjust your life and move on. Your grand kids are there to give you joy and happiness. They all love you!! So, please accept my deepest sympathy for the loss of your beloved wife!

To all my nieces, Yee Mei , Molly, Suo Mein and husbands Bryan, Jo and John plus kids and my nephew Jason's family, I am beyond word to express how I appreciate your dedication of love and care for your mother during her life time. It is through your love, care that your mother has the desire and the will power to fight for survival till her last effort failed. Thanks to you all!

I strongly believe that my eldest sister is now in good hand; Soon, she will be in good company with our deceased parents and eldest brother in the other world and they will look at us moment to moment with smile.

These are precious collection of photos of happy moment in our memories

My dearest Tai Ka Che,

You are the best sister in this world......

You loved and cared for all your siblings unconditionally tille the last minute of your life.....

Now ... you may be gone and no longer around in sight.....

We may not hear your voice or perhaps listen your complaint that came with advice.......

But, we know you are still watching us from above and still wanting us to be safe and better...

You will always remian in our hearts......

We love you just as much as we love our father, mother and eldest brother whom you are going to be with......

We were so lucky to have a Tai Ka Che like you...a warm and beautiful woman

Tai Ka che, I love you forever!!

Lastly, I like to dedicate this song to my Tak Ka Che.......... "GONE TOO SOON".........

Yes..... Why didn't she wait for my next trip home ? I missed holding her hands before she's gone !!
Please ignore the opening message from MJ.... just listen to the lyric of the song ........ "Gone Too Soon"!!!

HOME ALONE AND THINKING

Ah Don is away from home again. He left for New Jersey on Thursday morning. He is on official trip this time to fix up our company's computer and servers to be co-located at Jason's house. I am sure apart from the work, he can spend sometime over the weekend with kids and grand kids. I did not go with him as I wanted him to be with them without me.

So, when he is not around, I am able to take care and amuse myself. Once a while , it is nice to be able to have the time to unwind myself and do what I like ! First of all, I played my Chinese CD to top volume and sing along !

Oh, I really missed those Chinese oldies ! When I played those line dancing music it made me feel bad for forgetting all the dance steps!!!! . The music brought me back to those Thursdays nights where a group of us were having fun & sweat practising the line dance. After the class, I would go to the "Pasar Malam" and buy my favourable "rojak"home to eat. What a sweet memory and melody~~~ "Chili Cha Cha"~~~~ "It's so easy to fall in love" ~~~~ "Macarena"

While flashing back to those old good time .......all of sudden my brain alerts me to the hospital in Malaysia where my eldest sister Ai Chin is dying with dips, struggling and fighting hard with terminal illness. My tears starts to wet my eyes..... I can visualize how difficult she is suffering right now with pain attacking her all over the body. I was told that she looks calm and sleepy but the agony look on her face while at rest does not hide the fact she is suffering the pain even with the drug. Her body is too weak.

On the other side of the bed, I can see that my brother-in-law Mr Fong is looking at her, praying earnestly to reduce her pain and suffering......Every moment is so precious and a blessing to him. Over the phone, he told me... My sister is a wonderful wife to him. They had never parted with each other except for once when my eldest sister was away in overseas with my niece. He is uncertain if he could adjust his life without my sister around should my sister no longer live. Frankly enough, they are such a great and loving couple. They shared their lives through ups & downs for over 50 years. It's sad to hear this ........ but life has to go out no matter what happens. I hope Mr Fong would be strong enough. All my nieces and nephew would be around him to give all kind of support.

Next to the side of Mr Fong, I can see all members of my nieces' families and nephew's are there around the clock to look after my eldest sister. One of my nieces, Molly is back there from Vancouver for over a month now. She told me this is the most precious moment in her life to be able to take care and hold her mother's hand as well as to close to the father. At the mean time she has an important task to prepare food for siblings and kids who are in the hospital to take care of my sister. They bonding of love is so great that I believe my sister would smile even it may be the end of her journey.......I pray and hope she will live with the strength she receives.

Love and care is flooding the room where my respectable and beloved sister is hospitalized. I am always proud of my sister and Mr Fong. They brought up 4 brilliant and successful children ( 3 daughters & 1 son) and grand kids. They are the living role model to happy marriage.

I am sorry for being unable to visit my sister at this time. My heart is with her always. My daily prayer is there to reduce her suffering. She is a kind person, she should not suffer like this !

Dearest sis " Tai Kak Jie", I love you and I never forget all the good things that you have given me. I hope you will fogive me for not going home to see you. To all Fong family, I understand the hardship that you are going through. I am thankful and grateful for everthing that you have done and given to my sister. She deserves to live longer. She should!!!

Me, my 2nd Sis & 1st Sis

JIGSAW FUN

Let's Play!